Pinterestmas

I went all crazy Pinterest this year for Christmas!  What?  I'm horrible at crafts and DIY stuff.  I am.  But here's some stuff that even I could pull off!  

Homemade infused booze. So easy.   But so good! The Jalapino one will clear a cold up in one whiff, I swear! 

Okay, so this is actually a wrap up I just did from last year.  My dad gave me the stuff to make these shelves for Charlie last Christmas, but I just did it last week!  It's outdoor flower baskets, painted white and hung on his wall.  Charlie loves it too.  He's kinda into digging into stuff right now and the bottom one is just digging height! 

Writing on mugs and plates - I saw this last year, but then I saw that it didn't work.  The original Pin said to use permanent  marker - but what you have to do is go to Hobby Lobby and get a porcelain pen.  Then let it sit for 8 hours, then bake it.  But it's great!  

Self explanatory.  

We've had this huge frame hanging up for a while.  I like changing it for the seasons but for now we're going to try a chalk board.  It's like crazy hard to write nicely on a chalk board.  I did a new one for January and I'm not thrilled but I'll keep at it for a couple more months. 

My friend Lindsey game me the idea for this one.  We dyed kitchen clothes then dipped spoons in paint.  I really liked doing this and giving these.  

What other easy Pinterest stuff is out there?  I'm gonna need new stuff soon! 

Charlie's BEST Birthday ever!

on December 29th Savannah told Charlie that he would have his BEST Birthday EVER!  We figured that was probably pretty likely since it was his first one.
Some things Charlie is doing:
Walking
Saying "Mama" - which means "more"
Saying "Uh Oh"
Eating pretty much all kinds of foods
Drinking Whole Milk
Crawling up the stairs
Loves bath time with sister!
Plays ball.

We went to my parent's house for lunch.  My mom signs everyone in our family up for this Birthday cake drawing with a local radio station and it's awesome because we almost always win!  I think every person in our family had a free cake from HyVee on our birthday this year.  And last year.  Since Charlie is still working on blowing on things and when we tried it with Savannah on her first Bday, she grabbed the fire - we just let Savannah blow out his candle.

But little Bubs got his own cake!  First Cake!!!

Do you think he enjoyed it?

He got some gifts too.  I realized this year how hard it will be to separate his Birthday from Christmas.  But since it was his first one, we were all just happy to celebrate.  He loves this hammer toy.  He plays with it a lot every day still.  Actually, he just loves tools.

Thanks to everyone that loves and has loved Charlie this year.  He's a blast.  And I think he's going to age well with time. 

Christmas post 2013

Yet another great Christmas and Christmas season has passed us.  Having two kids this year, and a husband and daughter that have two weeks off, and a warm fire place really helped.  

Our church tried a new thing this year in celebrating Advent.  I usually put Christmas stuff up the week before (yes, before) Thanksgiving.  I figure if you're decorating, you better get all the bang out of it you can!  But the preparation in my heart doesn't start until a couple weeks before Christmas.  So not only was my home ready early, but also my soul.  My high school girls group also did a little Advent - we read through most of the Old Testament of the Jesus Storybook Bible (the best Bible out there in my humble opinion).  And Savannah is getting it more and more.  I love talking through Jesus with her.  

Here are some highlights from the season: 

Savannah went to see Santa at the mall.  That guy makes her nervous.  No one makes her nervous anywhere else in life - but this guy!  She stands 3 feet away and shakes the whole time they are talking. She had a list 2 miles long of things she would like for Christmas, but she could only remember one thing.  And when we got done she said "It's just that I don't know him very well.  I only saw him once last year and then again today".  What's not to love about Savannah?  

Here's our church on the weekend before Christmas.  They did a great video/drama/poetry series leading up to Christmas and then brought it all together. Go to www.cornerstonelife.com if you want to check it out at all.  

School got out.  Travis and I went to a wedding and Savannah and Charlie had an overnight at my parents house.  The next day we left for Oklahoma!  9 hours in the car.  The kids did great.  Savannah was very cooperative (thanks a little bit to the "prize box") and Charlie slept like a champ!  

Oklahoma was frozen when we got there. I'm not a nature lover most of the time, but it was beautiful!  

Aunt Missy came for Christmas at the Pierces.  I love this picture of Savannah and Malisa building a ginger bread (Graham cracker) house together.  Savannah is cracking up because she keeps licking the frosting and getting in trouble from Missy.  

Charlie loved Christmas.  He was supposed to be here for it last year but missed out because the stinker wanted to stay inside a little longer.  He was into everything this year!  Ripping paper.  Climbing in boxes.  Everything.  

Yeah - that's actually happening in this picture.  He's a Pierce boy.  What can I say? 

Poppy came and stayed with us for a week in November, but Grammy was in India then, so it was good for her to get to hang with Charlie too!  He just loves life. 

Here's Travis' cousin Clifford.  Travis says that he is a "real Pierce" in size and he's hoping Charlie will grow up to be as broad and tall as Clifford.  Our kids LOVE Clifford.  He teases and wrestles them like crazy.  

We came back home and had a day to recoup.  We unloaded all our junk and Travis and Savannah picked up a friend of hers to go sledding.  Savannah only had two play dates all break!  I thought she'd get bored of us but thankfully she loves her family.  

Here's Charlie getting into his stocking on Christmas morning number 2. BAHHH - Is he ever cute!

We took a trip a few weeks ago to a farming store in Ankeny with my parents.  They had a huge toy section and Savannah walked my mom through it showing her EVERY toy she'd like to get.  So when Savannah opened this Sophia the First set, she was pretty excited.  My mom had bought it that day and kept it a secret the whole time.  It was great because the family fits perfect into my dad's gift to her….

He remodeled and redecorated her doll house! Our neighbors gave us this house.  It was their kid's back in the 70's.  I the walls had outdated wallpaper and it was kinda plain.  My dad lifted the roof to make the attic usable, put a drawer in the bottom to store all the dolls and furniture, and decorated each room based on drawings that Savannah did one night when he asked her what her dream rooms would be like.  They got the furniture from a store in town - it makes noises and plays songs, which Charlie has already figured out.  He also put several free standing lights (not pictured) in it and drilled windows all over so it will be well lit.  Doll house perfection. 

We were very blessed by our friends and families this year.  And most of all blessed to again celebrate God with us!  He did that!  He came to be WITH US.